This Carnelian Intaglio is Set in an 18 Karat Gold Rin
The art of glyptics, or carving on colored precious stones, is probably one of the oldest known to humanity. Intaglios, gems with an incised design, were made as early as the fourth and third millennia BC in Mesopotamia and the Aegean Islands. They display a virtuosity of execution that suggests an old and stable tradition rooted in the earliest centuries. The tools required for carving gems were simple: a wheel with a belt-drive and a set of drills. Abrasives were necessary since the minerals used were too hard for a "metal edge. A special difficulty of engraving intaglios, aside from their miniature size, was that the master had to work with a mirror-image in mind.
On this lovely intaglio is represented Penelope, the faithful wife of Odysseus. In order to thwart her many suitors, Penelope pretends she must first weave a shroud for Laertes, Odysseus' father; which she then unravels every night for tell years until discovered by a maid. After twenty years she finally agrees to marry the man who can string her husband' s bow and perform an especially difficult feat of archery. The winner turned out to be Odysseus himself who had returned from the Trojan War in disguise. Penelope is seen here seated on a pile of ‘cushions’ while working on the end of the loom. Her figure is very finely carved, as is the tree in the distance. The overall effect is a sense of serenity, of sunshine and patient waiting for a loved one.